Origin

A palfrey is literally an ‘extra horse’ but came to be used for an ordinary horse for riding as opposed to a warhorse. It goes back via Old French palefrei, to late Latin paraveredus, from Greek para ‘extra’ and Latin veredus ‘light horse’. This word was of Gaulish origin, and was used for the fast horses used by couriers, who might well have an extra horse to ride when the first tired.